A/N: Some baby development in this chapter. Hope you guys like it, let me know what you think :)
The morning of the ultrasound Jay was already at the hospital for his PT appointment and because he had got a cab there, Erin was alone at the apartment waiting until she had to go in. She had tidied the living space, done a few loads of washing and was finally putting away their clean clothes. That was when she found it. She opened Jay's sock draw to put in a few more balled up pairs, when she saw the little black box hiding near the back. She dropped the basket of remaining clean clothes by her feet and stood still, unsure whether or not she wanted to see what was inside. Slowly she reached her hand inside the drawer and pulled the box out. Erin held it in her hands, feeling the size and weight of it. Wondering if it really was what she thought it was. A ring. Then she opened the box, shocked to see the sparkling piece of jewelry in front of her. Jay had picked well, it was elegant and slim, not too big but not small either. The perfect ring for Erin, the exact ring she would have chosen for herself. She wondered when Jay had time to get it. Although he was on his own for most of the week when she was at work, he still didn't like to go out alone because he was nervous about his walking. Erin put the ring back where she found it and covered it with the freshly washed socks. She knew she would wait for Jay to propose. One of the things she loved about him was how traditional he was, and she knew him well enough to know that he would want to propose to her. Despite how macho he was in front of their friends, Jay was a romantic at heart. He liked to do things for Erin to show her how much he loved her, and Erin didn't want to take the opportunity to propose from him by confronting him about the ring. So, she would sit tight and wait for him to ask the life changing question. Erin thought about the last couple of weeks, and how stressful they've been but also how rewarding they've been seeing Jay get stronger and talking about the future with him. He'd been so excited about the baby that it had started to rub off on Erin. She knew that someday he would ask, she just never realised someday would come so soon.
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At the hospital, Erin met Jay in the ObGyn clinic's waiting area. He was sat in a chair in the corner, flipping mindlessly through a magazine targeted at pregnant women. The noise Erin made by walking in, attracted Jay's attention because suddenly a smile spread across his face. When she sat down next to him, she placed a quick kiss on his cheek and then asked, "How was PT?" He turned towards her and gave her a weak smile, demonstrating how tired he felt after the strain of physical therapy. Jay responded with, "It was ok, hard, but ok, how are you feeling today?" Erin returned his weak smile then said, "I'm ok, I felt a little nauseous earlier, but a warm cup of tea managed to do the trick. I've kind of just been nervous about the ultrasound, not nervous, well kind of nervous…nervously excited… if that's a thing." Erin was babbling so fast and so uncontrollably, that Jay got a picture of how nervous she had been earlier in the morning. He chuckled and then said, "I get it, nervously excited is definitely a thing." Not long after Erin sat down next to Jay, a woman, who they later found out was a nurse, walked into the waiting area and called out her name. The couple followed the nurse through the hallways until they reached a room filled with medical equipment, a bed for her to lie on and a few chairs, before she left the two of them alone in the room, she told them that the doctor would be with them soon. Minutes later Dr Stedman walked in. She looked exactly as every ObGyn should look, bubbly and excited, bursting with happiness. The doctor smiled at the couple and then said, "Hello, I'm Dr Stedman and I'll be doing your ultrasound if that's ok." Both Erin and Jay nodded in response, so the doctor continued, "Ok Erin, you just get comfortable on the bed and expose your tummy, then we can get started." Erin did as the doctor had asked and then reached out for Jay's hand, which he readily accepted. Dr Stedman squeezed some gel onto Erin's belly and then used the ultrasound probe to spread it around. The doctor was moving the probe around, intensely scrutinizing the screen and occasionally stopping to capture the screen at different points. It was Jay who first broke the silence, too nervous to wait any longer to find anything out he asked, "Is everything ok?" Dr Stedman smiled at the couple and said, "everything looks great, both heartbeats are strong…actually if you'd like I can turn the sound up so you can hear it." To which both Erin and Jay nodded, so she slowly twisted a dial on the ultrasound machine and then a soft thump-thump filled room. Erin's eyes immediately filled with tears, while the widest and happiest grin spread across Jay's face. After listening to the heartbeat and imprinting the moment into his memory, Jay said, "you mentioned that Erin's heartbeat was good, but she's been quite sick and I know it's normal, but I was wondering if there's anything we should be looking out for if it gets worse?" He was a worrier anyway, but with Erin pregnant his protective nature had been kicked into overdrive. Dr Stedman responded, "Oh, if I was including Erin's heartbeat then all three of them are strong." Twins. They were having twins. It wasn't even in the realm of thought for either of them. They didn't even consider it as a possibility. Erin started laughing, "twins," she said, then she turned to look at Jay and repeated twins, as if saying it over and over would make her believe it. Once the moment of surprise had passed, the doctor then continued, "In terms of the sickness, that should hopefully pass as Erin enters her second trimester but don't worry if it doesn't. Unfortunately, some women experience it for the whole pregnancy. The things we worry about are the baby not getting enough food if Erin can't keep anything down and also dehydration. So if Erin starts showing signs of dehydration and she isn't able to stomach any water, you have to bring her in to us immediately because it can be really harmful for the babies. A couple of things to look out for are dark yellow urine, not urinating and dizziness. I can give a leaflet with some more information if you'd like. Some things to do to combat dehydration are avoiding coffee and avoiding strenuous exercise, as they both can lead to dehydration. I know it's a lot to take in but I'll give you all this information to take home so you can take it and look over it when you get home. I understand that this is quite overwhelming, so I can give you a number to call if you have any questions later. Having multiples puts you at a higher risk. I want to keep a close eye on you throughout the pregnancy, so when you pass reception as you leave make sure to book an appointment for a month's time and depending on how that goes, we might evaluate and consider more frequent appointments." Erin and Jay walked out the hospital hand in hand, absolutely radiating euphoria. They were both floating on cloud nine with the knowledge that they were going to have not only one but two healthy babies. When they were both in the car on the way home, it was Jay again who broke the silence when he said, "well I think we're going to get a new place." To which the both laughed. Then he continued, "I mean if we thought one baby was going to come with a lot of junk, I can only imagine what two babies come with." Erin nodded and then said, "Well maybe when we get home we should start looking for a new place."
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They were lying in bed, Jay was looking at the newspaper and circling houses he thought might be well suited to their growing family, while Erin was scrolling through the internet seeing what real estate agents had available online. "What about this one," Erin said. Jay put down the paper and then leaned a little towards her. Erin then started describing the house as she clicked through the pictures, "It has four bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, a kitchen that has just been redone, a playroom, a porch with a swing, a beautiful garden and even a loft which we can turn into an office." Jay analysed the pictures and then said, "It looks nice, maybe we can add it to the list of ones we're going to look at… how much is it?" Erin made a noise then said, "Well it's a little out of our price range, but not by too much. I think if we really budget, we can do it." Jay looked a little unsure and then he said, "I'm not sure if this is the time to be stretched for money Erin. I mean twins need a lot of stuff. Over the next eighteen years we're going to be spending money like it's going out of fashion." That made Erin laugh, then she moved to hold Jay's hand and said, "Can we look at it anyway. I can really see us living there. Two kids running around. Maybe a couple of dogs as well. I think this could be it…our new home."
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Erin had been tossing and turning throughout the night, so when she had woken Jay for the third time, he finally said something, "Erin, are you ok?" She turned to face him, huffed and then said, "I'm fine, just a bit wired from all the news today, you know." Jay nodded, even though he wasn't sure she could fully make him out. A silence settled between them, and then Erin asked, "Can I ask you a question Jay? I mean you don't have to answer if you don't want to…and I get if you don't, but I was wondering why you haven't wanted to be …intimate. Now I don't want you to feel pressured…at all, but other than kiss, we haven't really …done anything. I was just wondering if it's because you don't want to, or if it's because you think I don't want to which isn't the case by the way…" Erin would have kept talking if Jay hadn't interrupted her when he said, "Erin…it's not that I don't want to, I love you. And I love being with you like that. But I'm not the same as I was. My muscles are weak, I don't have the power or the presence that I used to and some of my movements are restricted. I just don't want it to be bad and I guess it's been stopping me from…trying. And I appreciate how patient you've been with me, but I just don't think I'm ready for it yet. I'm really sorry Erin, I know how important it is for us as couple and when I've had more physical therapy and I get stronger and more confident, but right now I'm not sure I can." By the end, Jay was talking so quietly that he was almost whispering. Erin reached for his hand and gripped tightly, "hey, you have nothing to apologise for, when you're ready you're ready and until then, we'll only do what you're comfortable with. Can I ask you something else?" She said. Jay nodded and although Erin couldn't see him, she could feel his movements. "Can I feel the scar from your surgery?" Instead of answering, Jay just lifted Erin's hand to his head, a softly moved it across the bumpy scarred flesh on his scalp. Erin sucked in a large breath. She'd never felt it before and now that Jay's hair was growing back, she couldn't really see it either and unless Jay was moving around, Erin would sometimes forget that anything had happened because for all things that had changed about him, he was still the same man. Erin pulled his hand down to her mouth and kissed it and then she whispered, "I'm so glad you didn't die." And just as she drifted off to sleep, she heard him whisper, "me too."